A new model of food project is about to be trialled in Stoke Newington. The Stokey Community Food Shop will allow its members to choose from a range of fresh and non-perishable goods for as little as £4 a week – including culturally appropriate foods for members of ethnic minorities using the service.
Our Development Worker for East London, Minet Masho, explains all:
“Prior to starting work at Caritas Westminster I started a foodbank/clothing service in my local area. I noticed that people using this service were mainly from the Caribbean and West African communities, because of its location. In multicultural cities like London the people most affected by food insecurity seem to be from the ethnic minorities and this is made harder by the fact that cultural food costs are higher than the average as they have to be imported from particular countries. My observation on this issue is that service users would like to also see culturally appropriate food in foodbanks/community shops which at the moment is rarely seen.
“As the Caritas Westminster Development Worker for East London, I was able to join the Hackney Food Partnership which is a relatively new group consisting of 14 charities and food organisations. The partnership’s main focus is to find collaborative and sustainable ways to respond to food insecurity and poverty in Hackney. They are planning to test four pilot projects including a cash-first approach, social enterprise, food cooperatives and community food shops. At the end of this programme, we hope to share our learnings and insights with the wider food network and the Hackney Food Justice Alliance.
“I took this opportunity for Caritas Westminster to take part in the community food shop pilot project in partnership with Woodberry Aid, a local organisation. The group has been given seed funding by the GLA to test out a cultural community food shop pop up event in May. I helped to secure the use of the premises of the Stokey Foodbank, a Caritas Westminster supported project, for the duration of the pilot programme, which will run on four consecutive Tuesdays starting on 17th May.”
You may also be interested in: Caritas Westminster helps set up a new community food pantry in Hitchin
Looking for support to set up or manage a food project? Contact your local Development Worker
